The present invention relates generally to fiber optics and, more particularly, to a fiber optic connector assembly for a fiber optic cable having one or more single optical fibers therein.
Fiber optic cables generally include one or more single optical fibers and are generally fragile in nature in contrast to electrical cables. Crimping has been widely accepted as one method of terminating an electrical cable to a contact or to a connector assembly because of the reliability of this type of termination as well as the inexpensive nature of the crimping operation itself. For these reasons, it is highly desirable to provide for crimping of fiber optic cables for termination to contacts or connector assemblies. The difference, with regards to crimping, between fiber optic cables and electrical cables is that in an electrical cable the contact or the connector assembly is directly crimped to the conductor itself. In a fiber optic cable, the crimping is done to one or more strength members which usually surround the optical fibers on the inside or outside of a jacket of the cable. This requires the addition of a separate component, namely a crimping ferrule, for crimping the strength member between the ferrule and a body member of the contact or connector assembly so that the one or more single optical fibers of the fiber optic cable are not over-stressed or damaged during termination or during handling of the fiber optic cable after it has been assembled to the connector. This invention provides an improved crimping means in the form of a connector assembly which increases the crimping diameters between the ferrule member and the connector body while also accommodating the additional thickness or the ferrule member permitting sealing and enhancing field termination.